A Pop-Culture Podcast

Weekend Watch – 8/19/16

Welcome to the Weekend Watch. Where we try to point you towards the best ways to spend your viewing time (or, at least, steer you clear of the garbage).

Movies

Ben-Hur

Loren: But, why?

RDT: I literally have no opinion of this.

Rick: I don’t usually vote for movies to fail, but I want this to get buried at the box office. Maybe it’ll teach studios to leave beloved and established classics alone.

Jen: Can you really call this movie Ben-Hur without the thinly-veiled homoerotocism?

War Dogs

Loren: Jonah Hill plays “Scumbag”. It’s super effective.

RDT: Rick’s casting sounds amazing! I want to see that movie. This movie? Not so much.

Rick: This looks fun, but I still kinda wish it starred Shia LaBeouf and James Corden.

Jen: I don’t think I’d be able to get past hating these characters enough to enjoy this movie in anyway. I will patiently await the female-centric re-boot starring Rebel Wilson and Aubrey Plaza.

Kubo and the Two Strings

Loren: This has that gorgeous modern stop-motion thing going for it. And I won’t lie that orchestral version of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” was pretty rad. In.

RDT: I’m a big fan of Focus Features, especially their animated stuff. I may not catch it in theaters, but I will definitely see this.

Rick: I love the animation style and reviews have been strong. Sign me up.

Jen: I have seen TV ads for this that did nothing for me, but this full trailer is beautiful and absolutely stopped me in my tracks. I, too, am onboard.

A Tale of Love and Darkness

Loren: I go back and forth on Natalie Portman, sometimes I love what she does sometimes she’s not for me. And, while I can get into the subject matter, I don’t think I’m in for this one.

RDT: I wish movies like this resonated more with me. But they just don’t. Unless this gets amazing reviews, it’ll likely very quickly fall off my radar.

Rick: As someone who enjoys more artful material from time to time, I feel like Natalie Portman (who marks her feature directing debut with this film) is going super-artsy with this effort. Not sure if that’s just the trailer or it’s endemic to the entire feature, though. Regardless, I’ll give it whirl.

Jen: I’m curious. I’m not a huge Portman fan, but I love the dreamlike quality of this trailer and something about it struck a chord with me.

Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World

Loren: I very much appreciate that this doc gets all sides of the story, from people like Elon Musk, to people that feel WiFi is killing us all. Then takes all that and wraps it up in the wackiness of Herzog. I’ll see this even though it’s clearly about the beginning of Skynet.

RDT: I will add this to my ever-growing list of docs I need to see, perhaps closer to the top.

Rick: I want Werner Herzog to narrate my life.

Jen: Giddy-up! Herzog is such a character that I can’t resist following him on this journey. In.

Imperium(in theaters & on iTunes)

Loren: It looks intense and kinda ok but I’m not sure I’m ready to watch Harry Potter infiltrate a group of Neo Nazis.

RDT: What Loren said.

Rick: I want this to be good, but I have a feeling it’ll be mediocre. This will be one I watch in my living room.

Jen: Hey, he’s a modern day Nazi hunter! Man, you just never see Nazi hunter movies nowadays.

The People vs. Fritz Bauer

Loren: That’s a pretty sick one-liner at the end of the trailer. Let’s break it down a bit. Pros: Tons of German accolades, good acting, Nazi Hunting. Cons: Subtitles. This one is too close to call.

RDT: Yeah, no, I’m good. Thanks!

Rick: The second Nazi-hunting movie in as many weeks, though I’d argue that this looks leagues better than Anthropoid. It’s already won high accolades in its native country. Count me in.

Jen: Oh, wait… scratch what I said above.

Morris from America

Loren: That looks fun as hell. Fish out of water, coming of age, hip hop, Craig Robinson comedy. That’s a damn good grouping.

RDT: A24 makes an appearance again here. I’m more familiar with their sci-fi stuff. Still, this looks pretty good. It’ll make the list.

Rick: I enjoy Craig Robinson and coming of age stories are among my favorites. Points for not advertising the soundtrack in the trailer (e.g. – Featuring Music by Every Famous Rap Artist in Existence and Some New Ones). If they’re selling the music that usually means the story/movie is sub-par. The fact that the trailer sticks to the story gives me hope.

Jen:This looks adorable and I have a secret crush on Craig Robinson. Yes, please.

Mia Madre

Loren: I don’t think this one is for me. Shocking, I know.

RDT: Again, what Loren said.

Rick: I don’t know how I feel about this one. I imagine I’ll see it at some point, but it’s not really ringing my bell.

Jen: Cards on the table this trailer brought tears to my eyes. I don’t know if that means I’ll definitely see it or definitely skip it, but I had some strong feels.

Ixcanul

Loren: I don’t think this one is for me either. Also shocking, I know.

RDT: One more time! What Loren said!

Rick: Truth be told, I had no idea Guatemala had any kind of film industry. This looks like a solid drama. Add it to the unending list.

Jen: This looks interesting, I don’t think I’ll ever see it, but I hope other people do.

Spaceman

Loren: This looks kinda fun, I don’t know, maybe on some weekend HBO viewing. Actually hold up, I was in until one reviewer called it “Like the Big Lebowski but for baseball.” That seemed pretty ridiculous.

RDT: I don’t love weed comedies. But I do love me a good baseball movie. This looks to be at least one of those things.

Rick: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I’ll probably wait for video. Or forever.

Jen: I love the story, Bill Lee is an interesting character and Dhumel seems to be pulling it off, I feel like I could enjoy the heck out of this from the comfort of my couch.

TV/Netflix/Blu-Ray

Fearless (Netflix Original)

Loren: I think I knew some people that worked on this. It’ll go into my queue but probably not at the top.

RDT: This is a topic I know pretty much nothing about (other than what I learned from the trailer to the Luke Perry epic 8 Seconds). So I’ll at least give it a shot.

Rick: It’s probably decent, but it just feels like a reality show with a bit more polish than, well, basically all of them. Still, not my bag.

Jen: I’m curious how Netflix will handle a doc series like this (you know, something a bit lighter than Making of a Murderer) I might check out an episode or two just out of curiosity. Or not.

So that’s your upcoming weekend in review. Let us know what you saw, liked and/or hated.

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